In 1974 tragedy came upon the jazz world, Duke Ellington passed away. He said he decided to become a musician when, in his youth, he realized that "when you were playing piano there was always a pretty girl standing down at the bass clef end of the piano." By the end of his life, he would declare, "Music is my mistress," which became entirely true, for it was his love and his life. Duke Ellington has received numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and at least fifteen honorary degrees. The name "Duke" came from his personality, it is said he was something of a dandy with a love of fancy clothes and an elegant style.
Jazz Alley You have not witnessed jazz until you have witnessed Jazz Alley. Jazz alley is my favorite jazz performance I have ever attended. My grandfather is in a jazz band and I really go for him, not for the music. In the case of Jazz Alley I truly enjoyed, and the atmosphere at Jazz, a Louisiana Kitchen. The musician that caught my eye was the saxophonist.
Thelonious Monk Competition 2012 Winners of the Thelonious Monk Competition Announced By NATE CHINEN WASHINGTON –Jamison Ross took first prize in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drums Competition, awarded at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. Mr. Ross, 24, from Jacksonville, Fla., brought a relaxed but commanding sense of swing to his performance with a competition house band, consisting of the saxophonist Jon Gordon, the pianist Geoffrey Keezer and the bassist Rodney Whitaker. His victory reinforces perceptions of the Monk Competition as a proving ground for artists already active professionally. He can be heard on tour with the jazz singer Carmen Lundy, and he works regularly with the saxophonist Wess Anderson. This year’s other two finalists came with their own notable credentials.
Once I was out of school I started getting more involved in the local music scene. I began to help promote and ask questions of those who were actually working at the shows I attended. I slowly became more and more a part of actually putting on the shows rather than just being in the audience. Now I have my own non-profit production company and set up, put on, and manage the same types of live shows I fell in love with as a kid. It has been twenty years since that fateful night and not a day goes by that
By 1920, Armstrong had left New Orleans. He first played professionally in St. Louis, and then joined his idol’s (Joe Oliver) Jazz Band in Chicago. He became very popular amongst the jazz musicians due to his different style: it was very improvisational (Rarely the same thing over and over again). As the music styles began to change away from jazz, Armstrong mixed bebop, jazz, etc. together.
During the next few years he made recordings fronting his own musicians; depending on the number assembled, they were known as the Hot Five or the Hot Seven. Around the same time, Armstrong is credited with the invention of the jazz technique of scat singing--legend has it that Armstrong dropped his sheet music during a recording session and had to substitute vocal improvisations until someone picked up the sheets for him. Also during this period, his experimentations led him to break free of the more rigid Dixieland style of jazz to pave the way for a more modern jazz
First touch to Latin Jazz Music is a kind of indispensable element of people’s day-to-day life. Music is not only a pastime or an expression of art; more significantly, it also conveys musicians’ spiritual world. Unlike the pop songs that we hear in our iPods, the live band gave me a new concept about Jazz music. It seems that jazz is less relevant to our daily life and I have never heart live Latin jazz concert before; however, I got a heart attack since I had my first close contact with such a type of music. What impressed me primarily was its combination of instruments.
Whenever he would play the room would go crazy standing ovation all throughout his solo. Armstrong once got someone to fill in for him. and once the replacement started to play people started to cheer in expectation of it being Armstrong. once it was recognized that it was an imposter the cheers quickly died down. This was just the grip that Armstrong had on the jazz game.
Late October, and the sun is finally down, there’s a steady cool breeze roaming through the air, and an unusual but pleasant sound escaping a small corner at the end of the street. What is this place Scotty asks himself? Extremely interested and intrigued to find out what this place is he wonders about, Scotty gradually begins to make his way down the street. Each step he takes on the uneven road that consists of gravel and broken rocks, the sound becomes much clearer. Finally he realizes that this sound is the famous art of jazz music that he learned about in 6th grade orchestra class.
After a long performance I feel as if I’ve run a marathon, completely out of breath, and honestly a little sweaty, it’s a lot hotter under those stage lights than it seems. But all of that seemed worthwhile because I gave it my all and the reward was amazing. To know that we impressed the audience full of experienced band directors and musicians is amazing. This experience will stick with me forever even when I stop playing the trumpet, because the feeling of achievement and satisfaction afterwards was amazing. Not much else can compare to the rush that you get after an amazing performance and nobody should go through life without experiencing something similar at least once.